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In Every House, Keys to Fight Climate Change
Brown's book discusses ways alternative energy can be used to decrease our carbon emissions.
(Earth Policy Institute)
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Some types of clean energy have been used by individual homeowners for some time. For example, American homeowners have been tapping solar heat for domestic hot water for decades, though not in great numbers. Recently, some have been adapting their solar collectors to heat their houses, too.
When the heat of the sun is highly concentrated, it can be used to power turbines that produce electricity. The huge equipment outlays could be undertaken only by a public utility and such a project would be feasible only in an area with little cloud cover and plenty of sun. The Southwest has the right climate, and Brown cites studies showing that this region has the potential to provide seven times the current U.S. generating capacity from all sources.
When the Earth's heat is concentrated in certain geological formations, it can also be tapped to run turbines that produce electricity. The western United States, it turns out, is one of the world's "hot spots" in this regard. Utilities in several western states have about 60 projects in development or under construction.
Homeowners almost anywhere in the country could tap geothermal energy for home heat, but this option is uncommon because of its high cost relative to conventional heating systems.
High cost has likewise affected household adoption of photovoltaic systems, which convert solar energy directly into electricity. Because of the cost, photovoltaic systems are feasible only in places where the state government or local utility subsidizes them.
Moving water, commonly known as hydropower, is another clean energy source. Most hydropower is generated by turbines incorporated into huge dams in river valleys, but "hydro" can be small-scale as well. Individual homeowners who live by small streams can install a "mini-hydro" turbine that doesn't require a dam.
More exotic types of hydropower capture the energy in tidal waters and waves. A wave project has been proposed in California, and tidal projects are being planned on both coasts.
The wind coming off the Great Plains or off either coast could supply enough electricity to power the entire country. Wind turbines already dot the countryside here, as well as in Europe and Asia, and world demand for turbines is huge. To meet it, Brown suggests mass-producing them by adapting idled auto assembly plants.
Brown stretches the definition of "renewable resource " to include the endless stream of waste that we produce because it, too, can be used to generate electricity. There are 89 U.S. plants burning garbage to provide electricity to 6 million customers. Corporations and local utilities are also generating electricity with methane captured from rotting material in landfills.
In sum, there is a renewable energy solution for every utility and every homeowner. The entire country could be drawing clean electric power by 2020 if we make it a priority now, Brown says.
"Plan B, 3.0: Mobilization to Save Civilization," by Lester R. Brown, is published by W.W. Norton and Co. The book and updates can also be downloaded from the Web site of Brown's Earth Policy Institute,http:/
Katherine Salant can be contacted via her Web site,http:/
¿ 2008 Katherine Salant
